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Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance has announced on Tuesday that the government is not considering a fuel tax, seeking to clarify remarks by Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele.
“Having removed the fuel subsidy, it would be insensitive for government to impose a fuel tax at this time,” the ministry quoted Oyedele as saying in an interview with ARISE News.
The ministry said his remarks were clear and unequivocal, contrary to misleading online reports suggesting a tax is planned, and urged the public to disregard such headlines.
The clarification followed an interview in which Oyedele said fuel taxes would be introduced “at the appropriate time, when the economy has stabilised, and income level will be able to accommodate it.”
He said the government’s immediate priority was to complete ongoing reforms, stabilise the economy and restore growth before introducing the taxes, arguing that imposing them immediately after the removal of petrol subsidies would place additional pressure on Nigerians.
“You remove subsidy, you can’t immediately impose taxes. That would be insensitive. You push the people to the wall,” he said.
Oyedele noted that fuel taxes are common elsewhere, with many African nations imposing multiple taxes on petroleum products.
“Now, if you look across the world, between 20 to 80% of price is taxes. Many of the countries in Africa have between six to 10 different taxes on fuel products,” he said.
He said Nigeria must first stabilise the economy and improve household incomes, focusing on growing incomes faster than prices rise rather than suppressing prices, which he said has not worked.
𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐗
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, @taiwoyedele, has clarified that the introduction of a fuel tax is not under consideration by the Federal Government.
During his interview with ARISE News, the Honourable Minister stated:
“Having removed the fuel subsidy, it would be insensitive for government to impose a fuel tax at this time.”
Contrary to some misleading online reports suggesting that the government plans to introduce a fuel tax, the Minister’s remarks were clear and unequivocal.
The public is therefore encouraged to disregard misleading headlines and refer to the Minister’s actual statements for accurate information.
Watch the Minister’s clarification here:
https://t.co/lN2z2ATsb9Watch the full interview here:
https://t.co/sky5E9TCHC– 𝐅𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄
— Federal Ministry of Finance (@FinMinNigeria) October 20, 2026
